The pre-supplementary motor area achieves inhibitory control by modulating response thresholds
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Publication Date
2022-07Journal Title
Cortex
ISSN
0010-9452
Publisher
Elsevier
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Wolpe, N., Hezemans, F. H., Rae, C., Zhang, J., & Rowe, J. (2022). The pre-supplementary motor area achieves inhibitory control by modulating response thresholds. Cortex https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.018
Abstract
The pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) is central for the initiation and inhibition of voluntary action. For the execution of action, the pre-SMA optimises the decision of which action to choose by adjusting the thresholds for the required evidence for each choice. However, it remains unclear how the pre-SMA contributes to action inhibition. Here, we use computational modelling of a stop/no-go task, performed by an adult with a focal lesion in the pre-SMA, and 52 age-matched controls. We show that the patient required more time to successfully inhibit an action (longer stop-signal reaction time) but was faster in terms of go reaction times. Computational modelling revealed that the patient’s failure to stop was explained by a significantly lower response threshold for initiating an action, as compared to controls, suggesting that the patient needed less evidence before committing to an action. A similarly specific impairment was also observed for the decision of which action to choose. Together, our results suggest that dynamic threshold modulation may be a general mechanism by which the pre-SMA exerts its control over voluntary action.
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (103838/Z/14/Z)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00005/12)
Embargo Lift Date
2023-04-14
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.018
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/335346
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Licence URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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